To get back at the man who insulted and refused her, Marianne Holton kidnaps him and forces him to marry her before she's sold off. Spirited and virginal Lady Marianne Holton seeks revenge on Lord Blaise Gray, a man she has never met, for insulting her by letter and refusing to wed her. She plans to force his hand before she is married off to a man known for his cruelty towards women. Her plan for a forced marriage goes well, but she forced the wrong man. Instead of marrying Blaise, she married his handsome, thirty-six year old father, Lord William Gray, Earl of Graystone. To her delight, the plan works. To her horror, she married the wrong man. William, a lord who had previously given up on life, is enraged to have had his hand forced by a woman who had the audacity to not even know his true identity until it was too late, and he vows to make use of his new bride as soon as possible. However, he finds himself unable to destroy the fiery spirit that took charge of her own destiny, and makes a new vow to protect her from the scorned man who would have been her husband, and make her his true wife.